From left to right: Design 1, Design 2 and Design 3.
Design 1: My first design embodies what I believe catcalling looks and feels like both verbally and mentally, because no matter what someone may think, catcalling one of the most common types of verbal abuse against women, and it happens most often from men. In this image there are a couple main elements, being the shadow of a man, a woman that stands between the legs, and then the silhouette of a cats head used as the spaces between the arms. This all connects to my theme of the fight for women's rights, specifically violence against women, as each of these elements fit in some way into what the message truly is. In this case I wanted to display visually that overwhelming feeling of a man constantly surrounding you and the paranoia as a woman when you are out in public and need be cautious of every shadow and every dark corner you pass. This is one reason I made him much larger and darker than everything else, to symbolize overpowering women. Furthermore, the negative space of the cats symbolize what the name “catcalling” is believed to be defined as, which is that mens comments are associated with those verses that are usually made to call cats and bring them closer. Finally, there is the woman as the main element of the theme who is also used as a negative space symbol. I decided to make her smaller and in between the man's legs, using her as that open space between them, because catcalling often feels like being trapped and feeling threatened. Furthermore, one thing you will notice in all my designs is the repetitive colours of pink, which I wanted to include because of the stereotype of pink colour women as well as the irony of using it in this case to symbolize powerful women.
Design 2: My second design shares visually what physical abuse to women may look like, specifically at home and by someone you initially trusted, also including the fact of how it may affect women mentally. This image includes elements such as a broken plate, a fearful woman trying to protect herself, and hands with drips of what could be blood or anything the viewer interprets it as, which makes those hands feel even more personal. This also connects to my theme of violence against woman in a majorly physical way, although it can be verbal as well. Using a plate as the main icon to represent the theme felt right in this case, not just because it symbolizes feeling used, broken and hurt from the abuse, but also because it is something that is commonly used in movies and shows when there's physical violence between two people, throwing plates or cups. This connects even more with what I wanted to share in my design, because it allows the viewer to know the abuse is happening at home. To continue, as the negative space, I used the cracks in the plate to outline a woman, representing her as being broken and how she continues as one of those various cracks, as well, the position she's in shows the need to protect herself. Finally, we have the hands of the abuser reaching down, and it can be interpreted as both the hands of evil or the hands of someone you once knew pretending to reach out to help. Again, we see the use of pink, white, and black, creating that contrast.
Design 3: Finally, my third design displays being silenced through gender based violence and discrimination, and being forced to make certain choices by men or even by the people surrounding you. This wallpaper includes a couple elements, incorporating hands reaching up and being shackled by handcuffs (in this case they are shaped as the female gender symbol), a tie and collar as the negative space symbol, and the faces in the neck. These all connect to my theme because now it shows violence against women in a mental way, controlling women and making them feel as if they have no choice. What is powerful about the handcuffs being the female gender symbol is that it displays the feeling of being weighed down and treated badly simply because of your gender, because you are female, and not because you actually did something bad. Furthermore, the hands end up being the outline in creating the negative symbol which is the tie, this symbolizes men and more so their abuse of power, as the tie is usually worn in a professional space and not as casual. Finally, the two faces on the side of the neck shows that there are faces behind the violence, someone that is watching your every move. Overall, this violence can take place almost anywhere and looks at abusing the position as a man and mentally messing with women and their standing in society.
